Prepare your funny bones for the biggest and brightest humour comic in Britain – the Cor!! Buster Special is back!
A smash hit with kids, the Cor!! Buster Easter Special brings together two of Britain’s most beloved humour comics for 48 pages of belly laughs and silly japes from some of the best creators around!
Out on 8 April from all good newsagents and comic book stores, this bumper issue includes: Buster & Delbert by John Freeman & Lew Stringer; Kid Kong by Alec Worley & Hilary Barta; Faceache by Matt Smith & John Lucas; Gah! by Keith Richardson & Tom Paterson; Deadly Hedley by Paul Goodenough & Rositsa Vangelova; Ivor Lott & Tony Broke with Penny Less and Milly O’Naire by Ned Hartley & Mick Cassidy; Sweeny Toddler by Tom Paterson; Swines Of Anarchy by Lee Langford & Pye Parr; Daisy Jones’ Locker by Olivia Hicks, Sheli Paroline & Braden Lamb; Birdman & Chicken by Keith Richardson & Edward Whatley; Frankie Stein by Cavan Scott & Steve Mannion; Duck Turpin by Robin Etherington & David Follett; Creature Teacher by Lee Langford & Brett Parson; and Grimly Feendish by Ned Hartley & Tom Paterson.
Prepare to guffaw and giggle your way through the all-new Cor!! & Buster Humour Special from the Treasury of British Comics – out now!
Taking the greatest comedy characters British comics has to offer, the new special bring old favourites into the 21st Century and is guaranteed to raise a smile!
One strip that just had to be in the Special is Ken Reid’s Frankie Stein, the bumbling, smiling misunderstood monster that first appeared in Wham! and would later appear, drawn by the equally brilliant Robert Nixon, in Shiver & Shake, Whoopee!, and Monster Fun.
In the Cor!! & Buster Special, everyone’s favourite monster comes to you from Cavan Scott and Mike Hoffman…
What does it mean to be bringing back Frankie Stein for a new generation of readers? Cavan Scott: It was fantastic – I had literally been reading the original Ken Reid strips in a collection a few weeks before the call came. Keith (Richardson – editor of Cor!! & Buster) asked me if I wanted to write it and I came back with an enthusiastic ‘yes!’
Mike Hoffman: It was definitely a challenge and adventure! I remember Frankie Stein well from my time living in the UK back around 1964-70. I basically copied each character once from Ken Reid’s art, then allowed my own drawing approach to come into play as I laid out the pages.
Characters like Frankie, along with the rest of the classics in the Cor!! & Buster Special are all much-loved, well remembered strips, done by some genuine comic legends. Did you have any sense of that weight of history pressing down as you tackled Frankie?
Cavan Scott: There’s always trepidation when taking on a beloved character written by giants in the field. I’ve felt it whether I’m writing Judge Dredd, Princess Leia, Doctor Who or Minnie the Minx. But that trepidation is good. It makes you want to do your best work! How did you balance bringing your own twist or something new to the strips and yet still being true to the spirit of the originals?
MH: I found there was quite a bit of latitude creatively in terms of artistic freedom, as long as I stayed relatively cartoony, like for example building the faces on circles first, the characters would be recognizable. I think even if a live-action movie were made of Frankie Stein, with actors in the roles, it would still be recognizable to fans of the original strip. That’s kind of a testament to Ken Reid’s fingerprint. I had to find that balance between the cartoony-ness of the original and whatever naturalism I wanted to bring to it.
What memories of Frankie Stein do you have from your childhoods?
CS: I didn’t read the Ken Reid originals first time around, but knew Frankie from Robert Nixon’s strips in first Whoopee and the holiday specials. I later discovered Mr Reid’s sublime work when I picked up some back issues of Wham! at a car boot sale. I soon started to hunt down copies of Shiver and Shake and Monster Fun. It’s fair to say that Frankie was a big part of my childhood, and probably one of the reasons that I’m such a big Frankenstein fan!
MH: Yes, I’m 60 this year and as I mentioned have lived in the UK, so I remember Frankie Stein and Beano, 2000 AD, Thunderbirds, Dr. Who, Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased) and all the standard British fare, even down to Bill and Ben the flowerpot men!
When it comes to the old comics, we’ve already seen a great deal of classic works coming from the Treasury of British Comics, but what do you think of what’s been done thus far and what have you really loved?
CS: Even though I have a lot of the original comics, I couldn’t resist the limited edition of The Thirteenth Floor. It’s fantastic to see the care that is being taken with these wonderful strips. Faceache too. I think it’s a crime that there are generations of British kids who don’t know these wonderful characters.
What are your thoughts on comics for children and how do you see things developing in the future?
CS: What I wouldn’t give for a new Buster weekly on the shelves. It’s not an easy sell by any means, with only the Beano surviving the cull of humour weeklies in the 1990s. Specials are great, but kids need to build associations week-in, week-out. The question is, will kids pick them up without plastic tat on the front? Maybe, maybe not, but that’s when comic-loving parents, teachers and librarians come in. When my kids were of the right age, the Beano was the only weekly available, so I bought it for them. I doubt they would have picked it up by themselves. It would be great to see publishers like Rebellion working with schools and libraries to introduce the characters. Authors visit schools and libraries – why not comic artists and writers? I know many already do, but with the support of a comics publisher such as Rebellion, we could really start getting kids reading comics. There have also been attempts to publish digital kids comics, to varying levels of success. It would be great to see a smartphone-friendly app like webtoons delivering humour comic material to a generation of kids who are already glued to their screens. I realise this is all very easy to say, but if we want kids to read comics we need to give them comics. They won’t necessarily find them for themselves.
What’s your story? How did you get into comics and what have you worked on so far?
CS: My first ever comic published was a Power Rangers strip for Jetix magazine back in the mid-noughties. Since then I just kept badgering people until they let me write for them, most noticeably the Beano where I wrote everyone from Bananaman to the Bash Street Kids and Titan with Doctor Who. Granted, I’d already had a fledgling career writing licenced fiction, but I was like a dog with a bone. While I was always careful to be polite and try not to get on anyone’s nerves, I also wouldn’t give up.
More recently have written Star Wars Adventures, Tales From Vader’s Castle, the Real Ghostbusters and Star Trek for IDW, Doctor Who, Vikings, Tekken and more for Titan, The Incredibles 2 for Dark Horse, Pacific Rim Aftermath and Vertigo Quarterly for Vertigo. I also recently wrote the Rogue Trooper strip from the up-coming all-age edition of 2000 AD.
MH: I started freelancing for Marvel, DC, Dark Horse and many other publishers back in the early 1980s. I drew characters like Batman with Neil Gaiman scripting, nine issues of Swamp Thing, Hellraiser, Hellblazer, and probably more I’m forgetting! Around 1992 I decided to self-publish and have mainly done that since. My own characters are things like Tigress, Madame Tarantula, Minister Sinister, Squid Girl and many more. Plus I’ve created animated cartoons, many themed Music albums like my Halloween favourite “Monster University”, which is only one letter short from the Pixar film, which it predates by several years.
Who are your influences?
MH: My first major influence in Comic Art was Jack Kirby, and I still use his approach to visual storytelling, like reading left-to right, establishing clear eye-paths for the reader, and use overlapping forms to create depth, even though the other trappings and details are my own. My second biggest influence was Frank Frazetta, which sent me in the direction of learning Classical painting technique, which I use in my Fantasy Art work.
CS: Neil Gaiman is my spirit animal and I’m addicted to the works of Guillermo Del Toro. When it comes to animation and story-telling, I bow before Dave Filoni and will read any comic Greg Pak writes. When it comes to British humour comics, my longest running hero is John Geering, and if it wasn’t for a love of Bond, Holmes and Doctor Who, I doubt I’ll be writing today.
Prepare to guffaw and giggle your way through the all-new Cor!! & Buster Humour Special from the Treasury of British Comics – out now!
Taking the greatest comedy characters British comics has to offer, the new special bring old favourites into the 21st Century and is guaranteed to raise a smile!
Just one of the delights inside is the return of Hit Kid, the mysterious mini made man from Krazy comic, originally drawn by Sid Burgon. This early years Equaliser hired himself out to any kid with a problem, dispensing pint-sized justice with pop guns and catapults, and all for payment in cakes, sweets, and fizzy pop! Bringing this most bizarre idea back is Robin Etherington (one half of the Etherington Brothers) and newcomer Dave Follett.
Let the enemies of kids everywhere quiver…
Robin, Dave, you’re bringing back a lesser known character from Kraxy for the Cor!! & Buster Special, the under-age avenger, Hit Kid. Is he a character you remember well?
Robin Etherington: Yes, I get to reprise one of my favourite characters. [Editor] Keith Richardson approached us and offered a number of strips – that no one else had nabbed Hit Kid at that point is the best news I could have received! As a kid I had stacks of Cor and Buster next to my Beano’s and Dandy’s. I loved the mood of those comics – they were slightly more dangerous than the mainstream.
Dave Follett: I read what I could get my hands on down here in South Australia. The humour was a major draw card.
How did you approach a new Hit Kid? Was there any sense of trepidation about messing around with a childhood favourite?
RE: Not trepidation exactly. You want to do the best job possible, and evoke the same sense of playful fun that flew off the pages back in the day. I’ve worked on a lot of franchised strips so I have a good feeling when I find that sweet spot between the original voice and my own. Actually approaching the page was extremely straight-forward. I read as many old strips as I could get my hands on, then worked out how to make my sense of humour fit with the original. With only two pages to play with, it had to be lean, but that’s the real appeal of this type of tale.
DF: It would have been foolish to replicate the style exactly so I did my best to meet my own high expectations as Hit Kid was a real favourite when I was younger.
Is it the Hit Kid some of us remember so well, or have you brought your own twist to the character?
RE: I only really updated one aspect, and that was the identity of the main character himself. Hit Kid’s cause – protecting the innocent and serving justice to the bullies of the world – has not changed in the slightest. In fact, in the modern age, his mission feels more relevant than ever! But I had a new idea about WHO was behind the wayfarer’s.
DF: Pretty hard not to bring something new, it was staying close to the originals in spirit that was our aim in any case. We all still need Hit Kid in our daily lives
The Cor!! & Buster Special comes as part of the Treasury of British Comics, which has already seen some absolute lost gems brought back. What do you think of what’s been done thus far and what are you particularly looking forward to seeing?
RE: It’s a great lineup so far but there are a lot of phenomenal titles that need attention. Personally, it won’t be a true Treasury of British comics until OINK is collected into a single prestige volume featuring all 68 issues … and as that’s a former Fleetway title, I have high hopes! If they made a NEW issue of Oink, I’d happily throw my hat in the ring to write Rubbish Man…
DF: There was a semi regular half page mini strip in Buster called Kip the Kat (or something like it?!) about a sleeping cat that would be the bane of the owners. For some reason I loved it, for all its uneventfulness. Can’t find mention of it anywhere, so it’s probably nowhere near as good as I remember, but remember it fondly I do! But of course, there’s PLENTY of other creators’ works that I’d love to see more of.
An important aspect of the Cor!! & Buster Special is that it, hopefully, gets these classic humour characters in front of a new generation of kids. What are your thoughts on comics for children and how do you see things developing in the future?
RE: At the moment, everyone seems keen to promote comics as a reading medium. I have a lot of conversations with publishers who are looking to enter the market for the first time. The future is looking brighter by the minute.
DF: Finally, people are realising comics are a medium and not a genre, and the best way to foster the passion for this much maligned medium is to create more outstanding work for all readers, young and old. The sheer volume of comics and graphic novels that are available to read these days is phenomenal, you need only go to your nearest comic shop to see the variety and genres out there for young and old.
Finally, let’s hear a little about yourselves… what’s your comics background?
RE: I came up from the Small Press scene, making comics at home, stapling pages myself – the old-fashioned way! Four years of comic conventions all around the country later, our work was spotted and we were offered the chance to work for Titan on their Dreamworks title. That was our first big break. As one half of The Etherington Brothers, I’ve written three all-ages graphic novels that have been nominated for an array of awards. I’ve produced comic stories for bestselling brands like Star Wars, Transformers, Wallace and Gromit, The Dandy, The Phoenix, Kung Fu Panda and How to Train Your Dragon as well as writing for animation and film. Our How to Think when you Draw and Write tutorial series is the UK’s most successful comic Kickstarter of all time.
DF: I couldn’t stop drawing comics in primary and high school, even published some mini comics with a good mate. Eventually I had a couple of 3 panel funny strips published when I worked as a casual illustrator for some Sydney newspapers, but on the side I’d been developing a longer form sci fi adventure story for Sunday papers that was ultimately published up by Dark Horse in 2010. I’m an Illustrator by trade, but I’ve created the weekly comic strip Kookabarry, wrote and drew Harry the Dog – Newshound for many years, published Uncle Silas: GENETIS in 2010, and I’m now working on Uncle Silas: EARTH as well as my fantasy adventure story Fia & Miguel.
Who is the rubber-faced ruffian gurning and scrunging his way through the Cor!! Buster Humour Special?!
Why, it’s none other than Ricky Rubberneck – aka Faceache!
The boy with a “bendable bonce”, Ricky’s skin stretches like rubber and he can scrunge his face into anything, whether it’s mimicing others or turning into monstrous creatures – but somehow he usually ends up coming a cropper!
And now he’s back in the Cor!! Buster Humour Special, courtesy of writer Ned Hartley and artist Steve Mannion – and he’s even more gruesome! Make sure you check out how Ricky’s malleable mug gets him into trouble in this 48-page special, packed with stories, puzzles, and more!
First appearing in Jet in October 1971, and continuing in Buster, Faceache was created by the legendary cartoonist Ken Reid. The character was also also drawn by Frank McDiarmid, with scripts credited to Ken Reid, Roy Davies and Warrior publisher Dez Skinn, among others. His adventures came to an end in October 1988, but his stories are being collected by the Treasury of British Comics.
Who’s the baby-faced terror cutting a swathe of destruction through the pages of the new Cor!! Buster Humour Special?!
It’s Sweeny Toddler – the demon baby!
Along with his partner-in-crime, Henry Dog, Sweeny is the bane of parents, park-keepers, dog wardens, and babysitters everywhere – a nappy-clad whirlwind of chaos who’s never shy of causing as much destruction has he can whenever he doesn’t get his way!
And now he’s back in the Cor!! Buster Humour Special, courtesy of artist Tom Paterson, who worked on the strip in the 1980s. When Sweeny’s long-suffering folks become exhausted by his reign of terror, they try to put him into a nursery so they can get a day of rest – but it’s never that simple with Sweeny, and the nursery teacher soon discovers that this is one toddler who can’t be tamed!
Created by Leo Baxendale, Sweeny Toddler first appeared in Shiver and Shake in March 1973. His escapades lasted a whopping 27 years, ending in January 2000! Writer Graham Exton and artist Tom Paterson worked on the character in the 1980s, when the chaos was dialled up to 11! He later appeared in Whoopee! as well as Whizzer and Chips, and then Buster.
He’s the adorable ape with an insane love of bananas – and now he’s back in the Cor!! Buster Humour Special!
As a big ape, Kid Kong spent his days as a circus attraction, feared and mocked by the public and kept by a circus owner who restricted him to a measly single banana a day!
So, one night, he broke out and went looking for more ‘nanas! He stole a school uniform and pretended to look just like a regular kid – and that brought him to the door of Granny Smith, the near-sighted, hard-of-hearing old lady who’s been like a … well … granny to him ever since!
And now he’s back, courtesy of writer Alec Worley, artist Tiernen Trevallion, colourist Jim Boswell, and letterer A. Mann in the Cor!! Buster Humour Special, which is on sale now!
First appearing as the cover star of Monster Fun #1 in 1975, Kid Kong was created by Robert Nixon and later drawn by Rob Lee. He later transferred to sister title Buster when the two titles merged, and his advanetures lasted until January 1982.
Prepare to have your funny bone tickled this April, as the Treasury of British Comics brings you The Cor!! Buster Humour Special, 48 funny pages of beloved character from the golden age of British humour comics!
Classic characters in all-new strips by some fabulous names in modern British comics, perfect for readers who remember these characters from the first time and just as perfect for a new generation of readers!
We’ve rounded up a few of the fabulously funny comic makers responsible for putting the comical back into comics…
Prepare to guffaw and giggle your way through the all-new Cor!! & Buster Humour Special from the Treasury of British Comics – out now!
Taking the greatest comedy characters British comics has to offer, the new special bring old favourites into the 21st Century and is guaranteed to raise a smile!
Underneath Neil Googe’s cover, you’ll find some very famous characters, such as Sweeny Toddler, Faceache, and Frankie Stein, but you’ll also find some surprises. And in addition to drawing that great cover, Neil Googe provides the artistic delights for Deadly Headley, the number one vampire detective, alongside colourist Jim Boswell, from a story from Rebellion newcomer, Paul Goodenough.
Garlic at the ready…!
Hello Neil and Paul, first of all, how did you approach getting your teeth into Deadly Headley?
Neil Googe: It was basically finding anything I could on line to get a feel for the characters, and then trying to retain as much of that flavour as possible, especially with the cover. As much as I remember the comics from my childhood… that was some time ago, and while I instantly recognised names… my memory of what they looked like was very different from the reality of what they looked like!
Paul Goodenough: Well, at the risk of sounding very business-like, I did a horizon scan (the process of looking around at popular kid’s comics, shows, games and brands), and then I spent some time reading old Deadly Hedley strips and just asking myself what would Hedley be like if he was being created today. That’s an over-simplification of course, but basically I tried to balance the whimsy and affection of the original whilst giving the strip an updated voice. Children’s shows nowadays are fronted by delightful characters who kids want as friends (as opposed to seeing them as heroes or role models). If you watch shows like She-Ra, How To Train Your Dragon, The Amazing World of Gumball or Star V’s The Forces of Evil, you’ll see characters every bit as rich, silly, imaginative and interesting as those from adult shows – and sometimes, even more so. Even though we only had a two-page script, we both worked hard to give Hedley a new lease of life, and plant seeds of a new personality we can build on later.
How did the strip come about, was it something you went after?
NG: Editor Keith Richardson approached me. I’d just finished doing some work on 2018’s 2000 AD Regened, and a cover for the new all-ages Prog 2030 , so I guess he though it might be a good fit 🙂
PG: Keith and I were generally chatting as I’ve been keen to work on and re-imagine some Rebellion properties for a while, and he asked if I’d be up for pitching something for the humour special, and of course, I absolutely was.
With the Special, there’s all of these classic characters, created by revered artists. Did you find yourself a little nervous when sitting down to start the strip?
PG: Of course. Although I’ve worked on any number of high profile brands, and done a lot with ‘cherished’ brands – very few I’ve worked on have been left untouched for so long. So I, and we, had to make sure that we resonated with people’s long-term memories, not their short term opinions. But I’m rarely worried about anything for too long, so I just got on with writing a story that I hoped people would enjoy.
NG: Actually, at first, there was… until I started getting the reference material and realised a lot of the strips [I was featuring on the cover] had several artists over the years and each one drew the same characters very differently. Once I realised that, I relaxed a little.
How did you balance bringing your own twist or something new to the strips and yet still being true to the spirit of the originals?
PG: Actually, for me, that was quite normal. I’ve worked with loads of brands such as Warhammer, Beano, Sherlock, GI Joe etc where I’ve been given some latitude to come up with my own ideas, whilst retaining the core ‘voice’. My mantra is to really think through what I would want to read nowadays, and then inject moments that will hopefully delight fans of the original. There’s a few nods and winks in my strip to the original version – so hopefully they’ll get picked up by fans and bring a smile to their face.
NG: On Deadly Hedley, I decided I would take what I like most about the different approaches done previously, while trying to combine them into something more of my own work, but still try and retain that feel from the original books. With the cover, when I looked at the reference, I tried to stick as closely as I could to what I personally remember of the comics as a kid.
So, you were reading them as a child? Did that mean you remembered the characters or was it something that meant some fun research?
NG: Yes, I was reading them as a kid… but had you asked me to name them a month or so ago, I couldn’t have, but as soon as I looked for the reference, I remembered them instantly.
PG: Very kind of you to ask, but yes, I’m plenty old enough to have read the originals. I may not have been quite born when they all originally were published, but I was close enough to the right age that I picked many up later. And over the years, I’ve built up a collection of over twenty thousand comics, so I’ve managed to fill most gaps now…
The Treasury of British Comics is bringing classic Brit comics back into print, but what do you think of what’s been done thus far and what are you particularly looking forward to seeing?
NG: Well, so far as I know, a lot of what I really remember from my childhood either hasn’t been reprinted yet, or has often been reprinted over the years. If I’m honest, I think Cor and Buster were what my grandparents used to buy me rather than something I really read… my childhood comic memories are really Judge Dredd, Starlord, British Marvel reprints… stuff like that.
PG: I’m like a slathering dog. I can’t get enough! It’s an exciting time for comics, but also one filled with potential dangers. There’s such a rich heritage of comics just waiting to be exploited, but I fear if the investment and audience-focus isn’t matched, we may not get another chance. So, for me, I really want to see someone do something new and bold with them and go new places and tell new stories. Similar (but not the same) to what Mark Millar did with the Ultimates, or what DC have done (a few times) with Teen Titans – give people a surprise, but with solid storytelling and a really imaginative and cohesive vision that everyone gets on board with. As for a favourite… I’d love to see a Storm Force remake!
The Cor!! & Buster Special is just a small part of getting kids reading comics, representing those classic strips in a way a modern, younger audience understands and gets. What are your thoughts on comics for children and how do you see things developing in the future?
NG: Well hopefully this will be a growing thing, with release of the all ages 2000 AD specials and with other companies doing similar things, it will be good to see comics back in the hands of younger audiences, and not just the collecting adult.
I understand the need for a more gritty comic for older audiences, times have changed and an older reader wants something a little more to their taste. But, I was starting to get frustrated with the lack of content for readers like my niece and nephew… And I was actually starting to question if I wanted to work in an industry where younger audiences should be able to enjoy the product being made, but seemed to be getting pushed out by what was in that content… so it makes me very happy to see this push toward all ages versions of certain books.
Where it will go… who knows… times have changed and comics feel less like a priority for children in an age of engaging entertainment on handheld devices and the like. But it would be nice to see comics reach those younger audiences in one way or another, so is nice to see companies trying.
PG: Let’s face it, most of us got into comics when we were children. People can get very uptight about beloved characters getting re-imagined for a younger audience, but that happened all the time when I was growing up. It’s normal, it’s natural, and it’s good for the brands to keep re-imagining themselves. In my opinion, the best thing to do is have a two-pronged approach, create new re-imagining for the younger audiences, that have loving nods and winks to the originals, and then make adult versions of beloved classics for the original audience. But that’s my take.
How did you make your way into comics and where else can we find your work?
NG: I harassed a lot of editors. I drew a lot and submitted, and submitted, and submitted until someone was desperate enough for an artist on a project to give me a break, just after that, 2000 AD gave me a try out on future shocks, and the rest is history!
My background is largely comics and game design. Worked on comics my whole career, getting my earliest breaks with Antarctic Press and 2000 AD,. Then I owned my own publishing company (with two other guys), Com.x, where I made my own comics and did a lot of concept work. From there I went over to Wildstorm and on to DC. Always working on and off with 2000 AD along the way… Probably most notably on Survival Geeks in recent years
PG: I’ve always been a fan. So for me, the move into comics was a long time coming. I’ve worked in TV and film for a long time, but I was eager to create comics because a) I love them, and b) they give the creators so much more license and immediacy than any other medium.
My break revolved around Simon Furman. I’ve always been a big fan of his work, and he was one of my major inspirations growing up and reading Transformers. So when I wanted to make the transition, I approached him and learned all I could from him (probably much to his annoyance). From this, I created a whole selection of ‘fan’ comics to test my skills. And once I had the scripts, I hired artists and letterers to give me a final ‘thing’ I could send editors and publishers. This also ensured I understood the whole process, and knew how to work with the creative team so that we would all get the best out of each other. I learned so much in a small space of time, and I’m eternally grateful for Simon’s help – because soon after he introduced me to Titan Comics, where we worked on How To Train Your Dragon together, and my career was started!
Most of my time is spent running my digital agency (www.aerian.com) which provides services create websites, apps and games. I also co-run a production company with Richard Bazley (Iron Giant, Hercules, Harry Potter) and until recently, Gary Kurtz (Star Wars, Dark Crystal) who unfortunately passed away last year. Outside of that, I also write and produce for a number of brands and shows, including British shows like Have I Got News For You and Newsjack, and international brands like GI Joe, Sherlock Holmes, Beano, Warhammer, Go Jetters and Peppa Pig. Annnnndddd… when I’m not doing that, I try to do as much as I can for the environment, working with people like BAFTA to change the way TV shows are made (you may see my product, Albert, listed after all major BBC Shows), Greenpeace, The Wildlife Trusts, Government and a number of sanctuaries to try and safeguard the planet and stop some of the widespread devastation.
And finally, who are your influences?
NG: Influences are far, wide and ranging… But off the top of my head, core ones would be Alphonse Mucha, Katsuhiro Otomo, Frank Quitely, Mike Mignola… my art looks nothing like any of them really… but they’re all in there somewhere… 😉
PG: I have so many. It really depends on the genre we’re talking about. For pure all out comics action, Simon Furman is my go-to guy. For brain-bruising originality, I love John Wagner and Alan Moore. For what appears to be (but no doubt isn’t) effortless storytelling, I’m in awe of Brian K Vaughan, Brian Michael Bendis and Garth Ennis, and lastly, for kick-me-where-it-hurts cinematography and direction, I love Guillermo Del Toro and David Fincher.
But, perhaps weirdly, if you ask me my two most memorable stories of last year – Russian Doll and She-Ra win hands down. Two amazing pieces of character storytelling. I simply adore them.
Prepare to guffaw and giggle your way through the all-new Cor!! & Buster Humour Special from the Treasury of British Comics – out on 17th April!
Taking the greatest comedy characters British comics has to offer, the new special bring old favourites into the 21st Century and is guaranteed to raise a smile!
Amongst the talent bringing the fun back to funny comics is John Freeman and Lew Stringer, with their strip “Who’s In Charge?”, featuring a hilarious host of comics’ greatest editors (including a certain Tharg The Mighty) to work out just who is responsible for putting the comic together!
John Freeman: I wrote “Who’s in Charge” drawn by Lew Stringer and threw a lot of artists and writer names at Keith Richardson as he was putting it together – too many for one comic, but hopefully there will be many more! It’s very much “classic” Fleetway, but with appropriate wackiness from a lover of Sparky (ssh!) and The Young Ones. Keith approached me to write a story re-introducing the classic humour comic editors like Buster, Sid and his snake Slippy, Shiner, Gus the Gorilla, Shiver and others to a new audience. I suggested Lew Stringer should draw it, because I knew he’d do a great job and throw in plenty of “sight” gags – and he, certainly, went for it!
Lew Stringer: I’ve drawn the three page ‘Who’s In Charge?’ strip, which unites many of the old lead characters from the classic funnies. Sid and Shiner are in there from Whizzer and Chips, along with Bad Penny, Gus Gorilla, Cheeky, and many more. A lot of characters, and I added a few more too in the form of brief cameos. Even Weary Willie and Tired Tim are in one panel; characters who first appeared in Illustrated Chips in 1896. I usually write my own material but it was so much fun to work with John on this.
With these classic characters, we’re talking about taking on the mantle of some of the very best of British, genuine comics legends, such as Leo Baxendale, Ked Reid and so many more. Was there any trepidation on your parts to get things just right?
LS: Yes, even though I’ve worked in comics for 35 years it was still a bit daunting to be handling such vintage characters. It was also a real buzz though, to draw characters such as Bad Penny that I read as a kid in the 1960s. Smash! was my favourite comic so it was great to bring her back.
JF: Not really, to be honest, I just wrote it how I remembered them, even if I didn’t remember the name of Slippy (thanks, Lew!). It helps that I’m incredibly ancient and actually read a lot of the comics the first time around.
How did you balance bringing your own twist or something new to the strips and yet still being true to the spirit of the originals?
JF: The editors featured in ‘Who’s In Charge?’ are pretty much as older readers will remember them, to be honest – there was no need to update them, but I did unsettle them by having Bad Penny be an integral part of the story. You never know when a Bad Penny will turn up! And Lew added plenty of smashing cameos by characters Rebellion now own, dating right back to the early twentieth century. It’s great to see Tom Thug in it, for example.
LS: I’ve tried to adapt the original styles as closely as possible but with so many characters having been created by various artists it would have looked distracting to ghost those individual styles too closely. In the end the strip is basically in my style but the characters are still recognisable.
Lew, you’re not only contributing art for the Special, but the illustrated look at the characters and the comics they came from. What were the limitations on that?
LS: I had a limit of 350 words to play with so there was only room to mention the character, the comics they originated from, and the years they appeared. It would have been nice if the illustrations had carried small credits but I didn’t know which panels they’d be using to illustrate the feature. Old British comics would often replace artists so, for example, I could have mentioned that Mike Lacey drew Shiver and Shake but the chosen panels were by Terry Bave so it’d just end up confusing the readers.
With the Treasury of British Comics, we’re seeing a great number of very important works being brought back into print. What do you think of what’s been done thus far and what are you particularly looking forward to seeing?
JF: I’m really pleased that we’re seeing both boys and girls strips republished. Again, being incredibly old, I’m looking forward to seeing the return of Steel Claw at some point (perhaps sooner than anyone thinks). Robot Archie, too. The line has delivered a great mix of strips so far – Leopard from Lime Street, Faceache, Misty, Fran of the Floods, Monster – just to name a few!
LS: I think Rebellion have done a terrific job on the books. I’ve bought most of them, as I didn’t hold onto a lot of the 1970s comics back then, or in the case of the girls’ comics, had never read those stories. Those old strips had a nice clarity to the writing and artwork that’s sometimes lost in modern comics. It’s refreshing to read stories that stuck to the point instead of the drama being diluted by characters indulging in glib banter. I’d like to see more humour collections, and some really vintage stuff from the first half of the 20th Century. That said I doubt there’s a big enough market for reprints of 1930s material but there might be some way to make it feasible. Artists like Roy Wilson and Basil Reynolds deserve to be remembered.
JF: A comic like the Cor!! & Buster Special isn’t for the people who bought Buster back in 1975. It’s only going to do well if the mix of strips appeals to the audience that are buying Beano, which has constantly updated itself and is now selling around 48,000 copies a week. That’s been done without too many free gifts, polybagged issues etc and all credit to the team and the creators working on it… but a bit of well put together competition won’t hurt on the news stand. We all rise together!
LS: There are currently loads of magazines on the stands for children but so few of them carry any comic strips because publishers don’t want the expense of producing them. That’s why the Cor!! Buster Special is so important. A comic that is actually full of comics! Children still love comic strips… if they get the chance to see them! I’m currently reprinting my old Combat Colin strips from the 1980s and kids as well as people who used to read them back in the day are buying the comics. Comics boosted my reading ability when I was a child, and that’s true for many of us in the business. Comics are a very important way to engage children into reading and we really need to encourage that by getting more comics onto the stands.
Now, you’ve both been mainstays of the British comics industry for many years, but how did it all begin for you?
JF: I’ve been drawing comics since I was in short trousers decades ago but moved into writing and editing, first with fanzines and a strips such as The Really Heavy Greatcoat with Nick Miller. Marvel editor Richard Starkings liked what I did and got me through the door there and I’ve never looked back. Well, I have, but only just in case Frankie Stein is coming up the street! I’ve worked in comics publishing for over 30 years now, working on a ton of stuff including digital comics and running a literature festival (The Lakes International Comics Festival). You’ll find my name in incredibly old issues of Real Ghostbusters, Overkill, Doctor Who Magazine – which is 40 this year! – Star Trek Magazine, Lucky Bag Comic… and I’m doing my own stuff now, such as the SF strip “Crucible” with former ABC Warriors artist Smuzz (SMS).
LS: I initially created my own fanzines and mini comics in the late 1970s/early 1980s that gave me time to develop my style and gain constructive feedback. Then… lots of rejections until Marvel UK gave me a chance doing one-off cartoons in The Daredevils comic, and that led to more work for various publishers and I’ve never stopped since. I’m, basically, self-taught, although I did work as an assistant to Mike Higgs (creator of Moonbird) for a few months until I gained regular freelance work in 1984. I’ve created humour strips for all the major UK comics publishers on titles such as The Beano, Viz, Buster, Oink!, Toxic, Doctor Who Magazine and loads more. I’ve been fortunate in that throughout my career I’ve earned a living exclusively in comics, so I’ve never ventured into storyboarding or advertising.
Buster and Cor!! were two of the biggest humour comics in Britain – and now they’re back and they’ve brought their friends in the Cor!! & Buster Humour Special – out on 17th April!
In this episode of the Thrill-Cast we talk to editor Keith Richardson along with creators Ned Hartley, Lizzie Boyle, and Tanya Roberts about this 48-page special resurrecting many of British comics’ most beloved humour characters – from the world’s naughtiest baby, Sweeny Toddler, to Gums, the most incompetent shark in the seven seas – updated for the 21st Century!
The 2000 AD Thrill-Cast is the award-winning podcast that takes you behind-the-scenes at the Galaxy’s Greatest Comic! As well as interviewing top creators and famous fans, we bring you announcements, competitions, and much more! You can subscribe to the Thrill-Cast on your favourite podcast app, iTunes and Spotify, or you can listen now at 2000AD.com/podcast
